Bugged? Company grinds crickets for nutrition bars

Forget about soy protein or soy rice crisps. A company started by a native Phoenician is making organic protein bars with flour made of ground crickets.

Pat Crowley got the idea for Chapul Bars after realizing how much water it takes to make many foods. He said crickets don't require much water and still provide a lot of protein.

"Chapul is a food company, and our mission is to introduce the idea of eating insects into American culture as a sustainable form of protein and a very healthy option when you compare it to a lot of our mainstream forms of protein right now," explained Crowley, who now lives in Salt Lake City.

The bars contain about 12 crickets each and cost about $4. They're sold in local health food and hiking stores.

"We make a flour out of crickets, so it's very benign and not as foreign visually to people. Then we add (the cricket flour) to an all-natural energy bar (which includes) organic dates and almond butter. (The bars) include just unprocessed ingredients into a very healthy product that includes our signature cricket powder," Crowley said.

Crowley received a lot of the funding for the bars from a Kickstarter campaign. Some of the bars are made in Salt Lake City and Tucson. He said he hopes to start manufacturing them in Phoenix, as well. For more information about the bars, click here.